Racism - yeah, I said it... (but others say it clearly without the animosity)
Sunday was a good day for worship, and worship is a big part of Flint. It’s not just important as a means of getting through hard times in a broken city, though I am positive that church represents just such an opportunity for one to spiritual and emotional recharge. It is a means of relationship building, a means of meal sharing, a hub for receiving prayer, food, and especially for water. And, it is an opportunity to be reminded of the story that drives the kind of response to community need that I am witness to in flint. The story we share in on Sundays is the story we embody on every other day of the week. Perhaps Sunday should more simply be identified as celebration. Worship is a day-to-day event, scheduled or otherwise, in which we serve both God and neighbor by helping to meet whatever needs there are to be met.
A few things stood out to me last week, part of which was spent attending a conference on the manner in which racism plays a role in the history of Flint, and the present water emergency. The second thing that stood out most is the role the church in Flint plays a role in the surrounding community. A third thing that stood out was the joy of celebrating Jesus and the story of how God works in our lives with two congregations whose histories and understanding of Scripture is very different. The manner of worship, preaching, singing, and appearance was all very different. However, it was informed by the same God, the same stories, and, the same sense of obligation. Love of neighbor and a sense of neighbor as family.
The conference I attended featured a workshop led by Camara Phyllis Jones. She did an expert job of addressing issues of racism and community health care for the poor. Her lecture helps put the water emergency in Flint into perspective, especially as it relates to racism and public health care, and, the nature of citizen involvement in the democratic process. I urge folks to familiarize themselves with Jones’s unique essay entitled Levels of racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale. Camara Jones MD, MPH, PhD "A Gardener's Tale" . Jones also presented a way of understanding how economic and social realities, privileges, and disadvantage can not only effect how people view health care, but how the lack of attention to resources available to communities can lead to catastrophes like the water emergency of Flint. Camara Jone's "Cliff Analogy" regarding public health . For the best example of Jones’s contribution to public health conversations, please view the following Ted X link from Emory University: Camara Jones TEDx "Allegories on Race and Racism"
As for Flint churches reaching out, the Church of the Brethren in Flint, and No One Without Ministries, worked with volunteers with Save the Children to distribute more than 10 full pallets of water last week. The baby wipes that we asked for arrived to, so we are beginning to add more services. The church initially distributed around two pallets of water when they began. With more help, they believe they will be able to serve even more people. One plan, the idea of Mary Hammond of the CoB, is to get enough books to have folks in the church’s neighborhood have material on hand to read to their children. One of the important ways to counter the effects of lead, which can affect kids from all environments, urban and rural, is to add plenty of brain stimulation to good nutrition. It has been shown that a parent reading to children is a major contributor to the healthy development of vocabulary, reading skills, and emotional and cognitive development. We are now looking for ways to make this happen.
Finally, a few words about Sunday celebrations. Both congregations are intimate, family churches. Both are committed to Flint and being servants to their neighbors. With time for a meal in between, Jenn, Rosa and I attended the Brethren meeting first, and then the N.O.W. services. I had been seeing pastor Janice McHaney at community meetings on Thursday, and sometimes at the church, but for the first time, I was able to experience her preaching and knowledge of the Scripture. No One Alone also has a food pantry for the neighborhood, a Bible study, and several prayer meetings. If you would like to hear the services led by Pastor McHenry and the rest of the NOW Ministries team. Minister Mulondo Echols is the individual who heads up the water distribution, on top of his regular third shift, full-time employment at a local emergency room.
Worship on Sundays with N.O.W. Ministries was full of praise and worship that are in direct contrast with our families Quaker and Anabaptist experience, but there was something more important than the reality of diversity, and that is that our participation in a common story of Good News about Jesus Christ was the nature of our time together, and not differences. After worshiping with people who are part of your day-to-day life, but not necessarily your community or home life, you can realize two important things. Regardless of how you might feel about being different, you are indeed welcome in God’s house, and not only welcome, but treasured by those who host the celebration. Communion provided evidence of this, but so did apple opportunity to hug, hold hands, and sing next to folks we didn’t know. When you engage in healthy intentional touch, the Body of Christ becomes one.
The way I read Galatians, the baptism that takes place in Jesus’ names erases distinctions (perhaps not differences) because we are indeed brought into a big mansion to dwell in the Kingdom together. Perhaps the craziness in Flint can provide opportunities for some Christians to get out of there comfort zones. A word of warning, however: visiting a “black church” is not exemplary of the gospel. Such visiting seems more intent on making friends and feeling good about one’s self. No – Flint offers a different opportunity than simple relationship building on a surface level. It offers an opportunity, as you will see in the work of Dr. Jones, to identify privilege, and how Jesus commands the church to overcome reliance on privilege for stability and instead, relay on one another as a single body of different, but not separate members.
